Horrible boss doing everything he can not to pay me what I think is right.........

[bovrilsarnies]

I don't know if anyone can advise me? My firm doesn't have a HR department or anyone I can turn to for advice.

My job is a Field based Engineer for a telecoms firm and I am now 23 weeks PG. I told my firm that I was pregnant when I was just 5 weeks PG, because I knew my job would put me in Health & Safety risk such as ladder work, crawling under desks, lifting, stretching, bending etc,etc,etc.
All seemed well to start with - it was agreed that I should not do any of the above tasks - but get my colleagues to do them for me. It was also agreed at that time that when I felt it was appropriate I could move into our support department to do a desk job. I prompted them in Sept to move me and they did - but when I got my wages - I was missing approx £250 worth of expenses that I had claimed for fuel travelling to and from the office. (my office is 70 miles from my home) As a field based Engineer, I have always been re-imbursed for fuel used in business mileage.
My boss said that they would not re-imburse fuel for travelling to the office as it is "ordinary commuting" now that I am working from our offices. The thing is, me working from the office is a temporary arrangement till I go on Maternity leave at the beginning of Feb next year, then when I go back to work in August I believe I should be allowed to return to my actual normal job as a Field Engineer - so I think they should still be re-imbursing this expense.
Can anyone advise?

hmm, it's a difficult one. Will have a think. Sounds like they are penalising you for being pg, but then again, if they never reimburse expenses for office-based workers they might be entitled to refuse.

Hope someone more qualified comes along..

I'm not sure I know the answer but their response makes sense. I used to work for the police authority in IT and when the coppers got too old for ahem activity they would get put in our department for projects. Ditto the ones who got injured on duty.

Because they then became office based they lost all their allowances.

I'm not sure they are discriminating cos your pregnant just that your workplace has now changed due to different circumstances.

Big sympathies on the now very long commute though (just so tiring doing all that drivig while pg)

Do tou have the terms of this new, temporary position in writing? If so, does it mention travel expenses?

You may be able to argue the toss with them that you were not properly briefed on the consequences and get something from them. I dont think it sounds promising though tbh.

i hate to say it - but it sounds fair to me - most people dont get reimbursed for ordinary commuting to an ofice base. - you cant be a field worker if your not - ahem - in the field sorry

Yes - you can't get compensated just for travelling to your work.

You chose to work there and chose to take on the travelling.

Get another job closer to home if you have issues with this.

If it makes you feel any better they are infact Inland Revenue rules - it would be classed as a taxable benefit if you were paid for travelling from home to your place of work - wether on a temp. or perm, basis I think.

Yep everyone else is right, you can't get reimbursed for travel to your place of work, it's taxable as gomez says, and also would be unfair on people who work in the office normally. It does sound like they have addressed your pregnancy and related H&S issues appropriately.

This has been playing on my mind all morning, see here the section about temporary workplaces, you may be able to claim after all. It talks about percentages of worktime over 24 months, have a look.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

flowerybeanbag: thanks for the link - I had found this doc myself and presented it to my boss, after asking him twice about the £250 loss in my expenses and getting the brush off. When I took it to him (apologising for going on about it) he almost threw it back at me without even looking at it saying "I don't care what it says! I am not paying you!" (most aggressive and unprofessional in my opinion).
When I asked him again to look at it because I thought I would fit into the 24 month rule, he proceeded to tell me that it was not the company's choice for me to get pregnant it was my own choice, and that I should just pay the fuel costs to come into the office.
He did, in the end say to me that he would obviously have to take precious time away his very busy days to look into this as it seems to be a grey area - but left me feeling that all he was going to do was try to find a way around the doc to ensure he didn't have to pay me.

He has now come back to me saying that I do not fit into the 24 month rule coz the amount of time I would spend on maternity leave would be greater than 40% of my time over 24 months. This has left me confused - coz obviously when I m on Maternity leave I will not be travelling any where - as I won't be at work..... what do you think?

What an unpleasant man!

You will fit into the 24 month rule as you will be based at the temporary location for, say 3 months, which is a very small percentage of 24. You will not be based there during your maternity leave - this is a temporary adjustment being made to accommodate your pregnancy due to Health and Safety concerns which no longer apply once you are on maternity leave.

Don't feel you need to be apologetic, he should be extremely careful speaking to you like that, he is obviously a bit peed off that you are pregnant and is not concealing it very well, most unprofessional as you say.

I'm not a tax expert by any means. My initial instinct with this was you shouldn't be out of pocket, my (limited) tax knowledge told me that travel expenses to a normal place of work are taxable, which I then posted along with everyone else.

But my instinct kept nagging me and I vaguely remembered something about temporary workplaces so I had a look and found the link which is obviously what you found as well. I don't think it's a 'grey area' as such, but something that isn't immediately obvious until you look into it. You have helpfully done this for your boss but I think he's just in a bit of a mood generally and doesn't want to know. He also is probably one of those people who doesn't like being proved wrong, so when someone corrects him he would rather say 'it's a grey area' than say 'oh I'm not sure actually, you may well be right, I'll check, thank you for bringing it to my attention'.

I'd consider reiterating all this in an email, cut and paste the relevant section from the IR website and attach the link as well, so he can read it in his own time. Write the email fairly formally and non-apologetically.

Who does your payroll, is it inhouse, someone you can speak to? If they are aware of this rule or you can point them to it, your boss might be more inclined to listen to them. Or if payroll is outsourced maybe you know someone in Finance who could verify to him for you?

I think you might get the most help if you actually called the Revenue Helpline and explained your situation to them and asked if it would qualify under the 24 month rule.
You need to call your local tax office you should be able to find the number [http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/local/individuals/index.htm here].

The tax issue is not whether or not your boss can pay the expenses - but rather whether or not they are taxable. If they would not qualify as tax free due to the argument he details, that does not mean that the company cannot pay them, simply that if they do pay them that they should be treated as taxable sums.

It might be something that advisors at the Working Families helpline can explain see [http://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/asp/home_zone/m_contact_us.asp]. Call 0800 013 0313.

You have a right not to be discriminated against because you are preganant. If a male field engineer was brought into the office to work on a project for 13 - 14 weeks would they pay his commuting costs (whether or not they are taxable)? If the answer is yes then you would have grounds for a case for discrimination.

There are 2 issues here:

1 Are you entitled to claim the mileage?

1. If yes, then is the mileage taxable?

To answer the first question you would need to look at your firm's expenses policy and normal practice. The second depends on how long you are deemed "office based" given that you will only actually be in the office until you go on maternity leave. Where do you expect to return back to work to? If you go straight back into the field then there is an argument that your office assignment ends when you go on maternity leave.

I hope this helps.

Sorry not done very well on the links!!

Inland Revenue here

Working families here

Agree with Sam100. If you are worried about what will happen when you return from maternity leave then maybe write to your employer to confirm that you will get the expenses when you return to your field work.

thanks ladies. You have made me feel much more comfortable in tackling this issue with my boss.
flowerybeanbag - you are right - he is not one to be proven wrong and I have seen him hold grudges for a v long time if you get on the wrong side of him. (Unfortunately - he is a company director - so is very hard to "argue" with).
Sam100 - I am intending to return to being a field engineer after maternity leave - it's what I have done for the past 14 years and it has been a bit of a shock to the system being cooped up in our office for the last month or so.

I will write an email as you suggest flowerybeanbag, and call our tax office too thanks sam100, explaining the situation. I would imagine that the tax office would then approach my office to confirm what I say wouldn't they?

I do not think the tax office would approach your employer - bit like the doctors - they cannot discuss you with anyone else! But if they confirm that you would qualify for tax free mileage because your project is temporary then it will give you a bit more ammo to tackle your boss. Your employer would then be able to ask the same question to the Employer Helpline and get the same answer (hopefully!!).

Even if the Tax Office confirm the mileage is tax free then that does not necessarily mean the company has to pay it to you. That part is down to the company policy.

I think your best tack is to stick to the "what if this was a bloke coming into the office to work on an office based project for an equivalent time period". Do you know any of your colleagues who have been in this position? Even if only for a couple of weeks? If they would pay his expenses then they should pay yours - if not then I'm afraid you are stuck. The financial consequences of coming into the office have not been explained very well to you - you would not normally expect to be out of pocket for having to comply with H & S issues. Could try scaring your boss by saying if he does not pay mileage you will go back to your proper job in the field!!!

Or perhaps you can negotiate a compromise whereby the company pay something towards your petrol? Or you work from home 2 days a week and 3 days in the office so that you do not have to pay as much in petrol?

I do not know where you stand legally from having to take an office position if your own job is untenable due to H & S issues. ACAS might be able to help with the legal side of things - try the Acas help line on 08457 474 747 from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday